Advantage Completes Acquisition of E-Z Rent-A-Car

Advantage Rent A Car, a portfolio company of funds managed by the Catalyst Capital Group Inc., has completed its purchase of E-Z Rent-A-Car Group Holding, LLC.

Through a network of 85 locations, the combined company will have its presence in 22 of the top 25 U.S. airports.

"We can now see even more benefits to our 'one company, two brand' approach than originally envisioned,” said Bill Plamondon, president of Advantage Rent A Car. “The combination will allow greater efficiencies and economies of scale in areas such as fleet, maintenance, back office processing and procurement."

The combined company will be led by a management team that includes the founders of E-Z (Mehrdad Memarpouri and Hesam Sahraian), Plamondon and Scott Lieberman from the Advantage team and Gabriel de Alba, managing director and partner of The Catalyst Capital Group Inc., which owns Advantage.

"This combination is exactly what we strive for in an investment," said de Alba. "Delivery of a solution to the regulators, high barriers to entry, valuable underlying assets, proven established brands, a seasoned management team and the economies of scale of a major player that is positioned to grow its market share.”

Founded in 1963, Advantage Rent A Car was acquired by The Catalyst Capital Group Inc., a private equity firm based in Toronto that manages $4.5 billion in various funds, in 2014. Advantage now operates at 44 locations across the United States.

Founded in 1994 with a fleet of just nine cars, E-Z Rent-A-Car has grown to 13 company-owned locations and 28 affiliate locations around the world.

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Counter bypass is just the beginning. The promise of a “data-driven ecosystem” that connects renters with the rental agency, retail services, and even the city is a better managed fleet, an improved user experience, and new revenue opportunities during the rental itself.